1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the art of hand-held printing systems and more particularly to a portable thermal label printing system that has improved functionality for ease of operation and print quality.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
There has been previously disclosed a number of hand-held printers and various stationary printers with the ability to print indicia on labels. Examples of such hand-held label printers have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,807,177, Ward; 5,918,989, Stout, Jr. et al.; 5,951,177, Schanke et al.; and 6,113,293, Schanke et al. The electronic apparatus of the types disclosed above commonly include a general combination of elements including a print head, means for feeding a labeling media to be printed past the print head, a microprocessor, a read only memory programmed with appropriate instructions to operate the microprocessor, a random access memory, a keyboard with letter, number, and function keys for the entry of alphanumeric information and instructions concerning the indicia to be printed, a battery for portable power, and a visual display such as an LED or LCD display to assist the operator in using the apparatus. In a hand held printer, these components may all be enclosed in a single housing.
Prior art hand-held label printers require a user to manually input data pertaining to the label type to be printed. Although this provides the printer with the appropriate specifications to properly print the label, it also introduces the possibility of user error. Other prior art printers have incorporated the use of electronic components within the label support spindle to thereby identify the label specifications. This approach has reduced user error, but it has also increased the cost of manufacture, and increased the number of electronic components that could possibly fail.
In a thermal transfer printer such as a label printer, both the label supply roll and the ink ribbon pass together in overlay relationship between the print head and the platen roller. Typically, the print head and the platen roller are in fixed positions relative to each other. Printers of this type require the user to remove the ink ribbon and then delicately feed the label supply roll between the print head and the platen roller and within the printer for proper alignment and printing. This adds to the time and complexity of installing the label supply roll within the printer, and is compounded when a variety of label types are used.
Yet another deficiency in the art of hand held label printers is the ability to view an accurate representation of a designed label before the label is actually printed. As noted above, previous printers commonly incorporate a visual display such as an LED or LCD display to assist the operator in using the apparatus. The display allows visual confirmation of the indicia being applied to a label, but not a visual confirmation of the indicia being applied to a label relative to the label itself. This deficiency in the art creates wasted labels, as a user is required to print a sample label to confirm a proper label layout.
Also, many of these previously disclosed thermal printers have attempted to solve the problem of waste due to advancing the label supply roll and the ink ribbon by including a reverse feed function to enable recapture of these wasted portions. However, reversing the ribbon feed direction can introduce ribbon wrinkling and telescoping, which leads to misprinted labels and frustrated users.
Furthermore, prior art hand-held printers have had limited download capabilities. Previous printers have incorporated expensive interfaces to allow for data downloading or software upgrades, while other printers have had limited capabilities to communicate with a computer or an online database. These restrictions have limited the ability of hand held printers to remain current with the latest in label options, graphic images, user languages, and software.
Because of the foregoing deficiencies in the art, an object of the present invention is to provide a compact portable printing system that solves these problems by making the device easier to operate and simplifies the label design and printing process.